Business

Yahoo Invests More in News With Digest Mobile App

LAS VEGAS — Yahoo announced a series of new products during the 2014 International CES to make digesting news easier on mobile, but its Yahoo News Digest app is a standout among the rest.

To cut down on "tl;dr" — a popular web term that stands for "too long, didn't read" — the company launched an app which editorially curates news twice a day. The concept summarizes the top news you need to know, but pulls content from multiple sources, such as a video from one source, article text from another and tweets from around the web.

The app, which will be updated at 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. U.S. local time, can feature anywhere between five to 10 stories, depending on how much news is circulating. Content also varies based on what's hot too, from general news to sports and politics.

"What I love about the Yahoo News Digest is how photos, articles, social and deliver it in one nicely-organized experience," Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer told attendees. "We wanted to harness the power of the web on topics we love. We found inspiration in magazines with an editorial voice and combined that elegance of magazines to create a new product."

The summarization of content is done algorithmically — with a little help from Yahoo's editorial team too — to identify what Yahoo is calling “Atoms." These atoms piece together consist of pieces of information from articles, maps, infographics, Wikipedia posts, videos and photos.

The app is currently available for the iPhone and iPod Touch, but the company told Mashable it could come to Android in the future, once it's collected consumer feedback on the current app.

Katie Couric, who joined Yahoo earlier this year as its global anchor for a reported $6 million each year, also Mayer on stage to discuss her role with the site.

"Linking has too often replaced reporting" Couric said. "Under Marissa's leadership, quality content of better understanding of this complicated, noisy world we live in. I couldn't be more excited to be a part of the Yahoo team."

She continued: "One of the most exciting things for me and the opportunity of Yahoo is it's a blank slate. I really enjoy interviewing and look forward to interviewing leaders, sports figures, tech leaders, social entrepreneurs, authors and anyone we believe has an important and interesting story to tell."

Other announcements included the launch of Yahoo's new tech and food platforms, as well as its acquisition of startup Aviate, an "intelligent home screen service."

"We believe homescreens can be more personalized and wanted to focus on daily habits," Mayer said.

The keynote had its fair share of celebrity appearances too. Singer Jon Legend sang for audience members and SNL cast members Cecily Strong and Kenan Thompson — posing as as Al Sharpton — performed a Weekend Update sketch.

The comedians cracked tech-related jokes on topics ranging from Snapchat and Facebook to twerking.

Image: Mashable

CES: Yahoo!

Marissa Mayer

Image: Mashable, Nina Frazier-Hansen

David Karp and Marissa Mayer

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David Pogue

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The Two Tech Audiences

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Yahoo! gives CES the 'Weekend Update' treatment

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Marissa Mayer

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Marissa Mayer and Katie Couric

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Adam Cahan

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Nick D'Aloisio

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John Legend ends the Yahoo presentation with a performance

Image: Mashable, Nina Frazier-Hansen

John Legend says goodbye

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